Council addresses possible pier project upgrades

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - Major changes could be coming to the design of St. Petersburg's new pier.

City council debated for nearly five hours Thursday whether or not to add an additional $14 million to the new pier project.

Council voted unanimously to request the money.

The project is within its $46 million budget, but Mayor Rick Kriseman wants to take TIF money that St. Pete receives from the county government and beef the project up, making it a global attraction.

"We've identified the funding which is not coming from new taxes or displacing a project," Kriseman told council.

Kriseman says the county money is essentially just sitting there, but it has stipulations. The county requires the money to be used for a development project, so it couldn't go to help repair the city's sewer system.